Whats up everyone. I want to build a set of Imperials, and am finally in the finacial area to do it. I already own a Behringer EP2500 which boasts these power levels on each channel:

500 watts RMS @ 8 ohms 750 watts RMS @ 4 ohms1,200 watts @ 2 ohms.

I would like to build 2 stereo imperials with 2 drivers in each, preferably coaxials with XOs already.

Is there an option out there for me. I would like to spend as least possible. These would be used at really low volumes for personal listening, and for high volume playback at house parties etc. I am open to building the aditional HF horn for on top of the imperials, the main thing is a relatively flat response and decent tonal signature and high power handling. I would like to use the amp I have and pre-built XOs. I know a budget would help tremendously here, but the truth is I don't know what this stuff can resonably be had for- I would like to spend under 200 + the profit from my selling off of two Dayton HO 12". (Maybe these could be used in the design? I doubt it though...)

JrockParts express has got some sammi sound 12" coaxial at a blowout price of about 80 bucks.With a SPL of 97 you could sell the big amp and purchase a smaller one.I know ther only 12's but they might work for you.

bnew, not everyone wants to use their speakers in a living room with a small amp. If Jrock ever wants to use his Imperial as a DJ or for sound reinforcement he needs a big amp. Also, not all big amps sound bad, even in the first watt. I don't know about his amp, but I use a PA amp on my home system and it sounds very good at any sound level and few amps of any kind could touch the signal to noise level. I can also put the speakers out on the deck and turn them up as loud as I need to and still have plenty of headroom.

Jrock, don't even think about buying premade boxes and removing the drivers. That won't save you any money unless you get them cheap used. You should also know that decent pro coaxials are very expensive. Drivers with a 2" exit HF unit will sound better, almost without exception, compared to 1" exit horns. The bargains are more likely to be found using standard woofers and putting horns on top of the box.

Eminence does make a line of coaxials including a 15" (the Beta series) but the motor doesn't look beefy enough for horn loading. If you choose Eminence coaxials remember they don't come with the HF driver or crossover.Someone on this forum used Eminence drivers in an Imperial and found a largish peak around 2k hz. If you plan to use EQ or crossover below that won't be a problem but something to consider. (Jim, was that you?)

When I built my Imps I looked at the coaxial option but was unable to find an affordable coax with a woofer that had the necessary specs. Most have too high a Qts. The close-out Sammi-sound is marginal in that respect, but an interesting option. Had they been available when I built the 1/2 width imperials, I would have tried them.

The right coax in the imperial would be sweet, but on a budget I think you'll be better off with a separate horn tweeter.

Braggi is correct, I did use an Eminence gamma in my full size Imperial for one of the drivers. It's response shows a peak around 2K, so I crossed it over a little below that and brought the tweeter in at 2K. It works, but for well balance sound, there is probably a better choice. I use an EQ on the Imps, which are used mostly as PA for live sound. When I listen casually with recorded music, it needs the EQ to smooth it out. Part of that is relative levels between the drivers but mostly a little tweek in the crossover region and smoothing some dips and peaks in the 100-250 hz region. (Call me crazy but I also like to bump up the 30-70 hz range a bit. Nothin like feeling the music!)

Just FYI the other drivers I use are the Part Express Pro 15" and the horns are the SELENIUM DH200E-E 1" TITANIUM COMPRESSION DRIVER with a bi-radial horn (the best $35 horn tweeter I've heard)

I probably haven't answered your questions, but hopefully given you something you can use.

The P-audio co-axials would probably be perfect for you ...except for the price. Then again, if you only use one driver per side (as many have recommended) the price becomes more reasonable.

On the economy side, the "Hammer" driver seems like it would be a good fit, and the price is right.

I don't have any first-hand info to give you on these drivers, though I remember some discussion on the P audio drivers a while back.

Robert,

I did do some frequency response measurements. There is strong output around 70 Hz and 50 Hz, but not a 24 db/ octave drop below. I posted my results; if they are still available in the archives I don't know.

Jim

ps. JRock, your hip-thrusting storm trooper logo is quite disturbing. It's kind of hard to ignore that thing gyrating away while you are reading a post. Make it stop!

The Hammers look a lot like Delta Pros and the baskets are probably made from the same castings. You might want to consider all the specs and compare prices to be sure you're getting a significantly better deal than buying new, easy to replace drivers rather than overstock OEM drivers that might be the end of a run.

New Eminence drivers carry a 7 year guarantee. That's worth something too. For the Imperial those who are wiser than I say an Fs of 40 hz or higher is desirable to maintain proper loading at high SPLs and frequencies below Fs. Also you want a "strong motor" hopefully with an Efficiency Bandwidth Product (EBP) of 120 or more. (Assuming I'm remembering that correctly.) The Delta pro 15 has an EBP of 95, which is lower than optimal but I bet they work pretty well anyway. They have a high enough efficiency I don't think you'll need to run them hard.

The Peavy Black Widow was also mentioned as a reasonable driver and should be easy to find.

Study first, buy later, be happy. I agree the Hammers are pretty, but look at other options too.

Perhaps a partial Imperial with a single one of those per side- Coupled with either a compression driver with large horn ontop of the Imperial- or built into the front carefully to get it to ear level height.Then I could get an amp for just the compression drivers that has an adjustable High Pass filter.

I think that is now the easiest to implement and cheaper plan- 2 single (or dual cheapo) driver imperials with compression horn for highs ran on a seperate smaller amp.

Also to consider is Buzz's version of the imperial with two drivers, one on each side. Perhaps 2 different drivers - say a Hammer and the Goldwood (just saying)- up front in normal configuration, with two fullrange PA drivers or good compression drivers on the side. Could run the 2 subs off my amp and again buy a smaller amp for the 2 other PA Drivers on the side....

Yeah, Steve said it worked a lot better full range with 2 different drivers in each cab. His experiments are in the Hell, those aren't big ! thread.

For full range, one crossed low, used as a sub, and one used higher, something like a scorpion.

Some have reported problems with the seperate tweeter/horn on top -- too much distance between sources, until you get back at least 35 feet or so. Good for outdoors or Auditoriums, Bars, etc., but sounds don't blend well up close.